


All Hallows Eve

by Dakforest



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Aging, Children, Costumes, Death, Family, Ghosts, Grandchildren, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Greaiving, Halloween, M/M, Samhain, Spitis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 16:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7625029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dakforest/pseuds/Dakforest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How is this possible?" Around Yugi, the other's activities stilled, as all hikaris waited for the answer with baited breath. Yami reached up to brush away Yugi's tears as he looked down into his beloved's face.</p><p>"Do you really want to waste what time we have answering such mundane questions, Aibou?" He leaned in to kiss his hikari deeply, "The shadows are bound, but not gone. They are as real in the afterlife as they are here. We are still the spirits of the millennium items. And this is All Hollows Eve."</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Hallows Eve

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old story of mine. It burned up my brain for a week until I finally got it out. Grammar is imperfect. The writing style is not the style I use now.  
> Still, after - Gods, 10 years - it still makes me cry. With the recent losses in my life, the feels it elicits are brand new all over again.  
> It's not a sad story. More bittersweet.  
> Anyway, I wanted to share it with you.  
> Please, enjoy.

He was surrounded by darkness. Haunting lights flickered within the depths. Screams echoed in the streets and wicked laughter hovered menacingly over all. 

A young man hoisted his book bag higher onto his shoulder and continued down the street, utterly unimpressed as yet another holographic store-side display sprang to life. Given the true horrors that be-speckled his not now recent, but not yet distant past, the antics taking place around him seemed so much absurdity.

"Yugi!" A high, feminine voice called out to him from behind. He turned, smiling as Anzu ran to catch up to him, a large, delicate box under her arm. 

"What's up?" He inquired, wondering at her excitement. Anzu beamed at him.

"You're not going to believe what I found for Kaiba's party. Look!" She gushed as she knelt down on the sidewalk and opened the box. Yugi joined her and took in the silky material of her costume.

"Wow! It's beautiful, Anzu. Who's the lucky guy?" He glanced up at her to see her blush prettily, and he smiled, warmed by her happiness.

"You haven't met him… His name is Mamoru Mitsurugi. He goes to the Dance Academy." Yugi laughed.

"I can't wait to meet him then, this Mamoru. You know I won't have anything but the best for you." Anzu beamed at him.

"Oh, Yugi. You'll love him. I just know it. I've never known anyone like him. He's…" And Yugi helped her repackage her costume and turned to walk her home. He enjoyed the feeling of comfortable closeness they shared as she expounded the virtues of her new friend. He saw her to her doorstep and, reaching up to gently take her chin in hand, pulled her down for an affectionate peck on the cheek. She flushed and smiled as he turned and continued on his way, waving back casually over his shoulder.

Yugi found himself reflecting on that as he made his way back to the game shop. He had long ago resigned himself to never being able to gaze down upon his partner. At twenty-one, it seemed his height, minus his ever upright hair, had settled into a distinguished 5'1". But that was alright. He had found a different kind of strength in his way of pulling his chosen partner down to him with nothing more than the lightest touch, as he had done with Anzu moments ago.

Hissing slightly as he started to make his way uphill, Yugi shifted his book bag to his other hand and slung it casually over his shoulder. His muscles were aching again, but it was a pleasant, warm ache, rewarding after yet another two-hour session in the gym. After being mistaken for a child for so long he had decided to take matters into his own hands. Now, his body was starting to fill out into its true mature form.

Someone called out to him from across the street, and turning, he found himself waving casually to a group of girls clutching their own costumes for any one of the many parties that would be happening tomorrow evening. Flashing them his most charming smile, he watched, amused, as they all but melted into pools of giggling female hormones. Shaking his head, chuckling to himself, he turned and continued up along the walk toward the game shop.

Even now, he couldn't decide what had done it. Was it his status as the still undefeated King of Games? Was it that he was publicly considered a good Kaiba family friend? Was it that he no longer looked ten years old? Or was it, perhaps, that every morning when he looked into the mirror, he thought he looked, just a little bit more, like the true bearer of his heart.

He shook that thought off as soon as it came, staunchly ignoring the hollow, yearning ache in his heart. Regardless, he could not deny the fact that he seemed to be in high demand for the ladies. Not wanting to appear to favor any one, knowing that his true partner was forever beyond his reach, he put forth equal effort for each of them, that they should have a good time. They never lasted long, of course: one, two, maybe three dates if they were lucky, or persistent. He didn't really care. They were all pretty, and he found himself content in making their lives a little bit brighter, if only for a few short hours.

He pushed open the door to the Kami Game Shop and listened to the jingle of the little bell that hung over the door. He smiled and waved to his grandfather, but stopped as he caught sight of another young man leaning casually against the counter, chatting with his grandfather. Blinking once, there was no mistaking the long platinum blond hair brushing his shoulder blades, nor the gold circlets settled snug upon his neck and arms.

"Malik!" Yugi exclaimed, surprised and pleased as the young tomb keeper turned and grinned at him. Setting his bag on the nearest shelf, he greeted his friend with a solid thump on the back and an embrace, which Malik easily returned. Yugi beamed up at him.

"Wow! It's so great to see you, Malik. What brings you to this part of the globe? Is your sister with you?" Malik laughed, recognizing Yugi's lingering eagerness from long ago.

"Yeah, she's here, Yugi. I expect you'll see her later. She's over at the museum right now. The Egyptian exhibit is back. We've got some new items if you'd like to take a look." Malik knew he had stepped in it before he had finished drawing his next breath. Yugi's smile really didn't falter, per se, but he could see the darkening in his eyes, the distance, and the glaze as they slid slowly down off his left shoulder. Inside, Malik felt his own heart ache at the abrupt reminder of what they both had lost, and what they alone now shared.

When the moment stretched on past a smooth recovery, Grandpa cleared his throat and got the two young men's attention.

"Ryou called earlier, Yugi. He wanted to know if you would be interested in helping him with his history assignment tonight." Yugi shook the melancholy off and turned to his grandfather.

"No problem. When's he going to be dropping by?"

"I don't know. He didn't say."

"Alright, I guess I'll give him a call then." Yugi turned back to Malik. "You want to come upstairs? We still have some of grandpa's famous lasagna if you want some." Malik smiled and shook his head.

"Not this time, Yugi. Maybe later? I expect we'll be in town for a while."

"Okay. It was great to see you again, Old Friend."

"You as well, Game King." Malik said with a flippant grin as he turned and headed for the door. Just as the bell sounded, he turned back over his shoulder, "Hey Yugi."

The small one turned, "Yeah?"

"Isis and I got these fancy invitations to Kaiba's costume shin-dig. You gonna be there?"

"Of course," Yugi responded, although his undertone suggested that he wasn't really left much choice. Malik nodded.

"I'll see you there, then. Later." With that, he was gone.

~*~

"And based on this," Yugi gestured to the page of seemingly haphazard notes beside the text, "They believe that it was the tomb of King Tut's Mother."

"Incredible… But if that's so, what happened to her body?" Ryou turned to his long time friend. Yugi shrugged.

"No one knows. Many of the sarcophagi were opened, remember."

"Yeah…" Ryou nodded, trailing off as he gazed down at the text. Yugi, for his part, leaned back in his chair and stretched languidly, having gone as far as they needed to tonight. Ryou smiled over at him in the lamp light.

"Thanks so much, Yugi." The King of Games smiled and waved it off.

"No problem. I'm always glad to spend time." Ryou smiled and nodded, sharing the sentiment implicitly. They sat there in comfortable silence afterward, during which Ryou began to clean up his belongings, tucking them into his own book bag before settling back to gaze out Yugi's bedroom window, at the moon beyond.

"Are you going to Kaiba's Party, Ryou?" Yugi inquired some time later, having laid on his bed to gaze, unseeing, up at his ceiling. Ryou nodded, humming.

"I expect it will be spectacular, as always."

"Yeah."

Ryou turned a mischievous eye on his friend, "So, may I inquire as to the dame lucky enough to hang off of Domino's most eligible bachelor this year?" A smirk had already gained purchase on his face, expecting some form of flip response when he turned, but instead saw Yugi's gaze had darkened, and watched as he turned onto his side, facing the wall.

"I haven't asked anyone," was all Ryou got by way of response. Sighing inwardly, he turned his own blue-gray eyes toward the night sky again. In the rays of moonlight spilling down through the clouds, Ryou had visions of coarse, white hair as wild as the winds. After a moment, Yugi rolled round to gaze at his companion.

"You want to come with me, Ryou." Surprised, Ryou turned inquiringly toward the game king.

"What?"

"Just as friends," He clarified. "I don't really want to bother asking some 'dame' out on the night, and I know that you will not be taking…" Yugi trailed off, pursing his lips apologetically. Ryou waved it off.

During his early college years, after Yami Bakura had left, Ryou had met a pretty, intelligent woman, and had fallen hard for her. Unfortunately, the girl's physical appearance turned out to be the only thing pretty about her, and Ryou found himself yet again in another harsh, abusive relationship. 

It had taken the combined forces of Yugi and Malik to convince him to break it off, and to give him the strength to keep it off. Since then Ryou had all but taken a vow of celibacy and had sworn off all relationships, unwilling to put himself in a place where he could be that vulnerable again. It was a decision that, though they wished he could find miss or mister right, both the other hikari's respected.

Ryou got up to leave not long after that, and at the door, asked Yugi if seven was alright for him to drop by on their way to the party. Yugi had only smiled and agreed before embracing his friend and watching him disappear off into the night.

The party was, as expected, absolutely spectacular. The Ball Room at the Kaiba mansion had been draped in heavy, black fabric that writhed so much like the Shadows that Yugi had taken it upon himself to peak behind them at the strategically placed fans, just to make sure Seto wasn't dabbling in things better left buried and forgotten. Ghosts and bats hung, suspended, from the ceiling. Massive spiders, the size of a kitchen table, disturbingly realistic, laid in wait, their webs woven in the high corners of the room. The most original jack-o-lanterns littered the walls and floor, and the band selected for this evening's event was nothing less that extravagant.

Yugi had made rounds upon arrival, greeting their host and dancing with several young ladies before slipping off to get a plate of food and some wine. Finally, he settled himself at an abandoned, shadowed corner table beneath a particularly menacing, twitching spider high in the corner. Ryou, he found, had already settled there, the remains of his plate forgotten. Together, they sat in comfortable silence, watching the many beautiful, expensive, and extravagant costumes glide by on the dance floor.

Ryou, for his part, had dressed as an ancient Egyptian slave, complete with the markings of his owner. Yugi read them easily enough, his major being in Egyptology, and didn't say anything when he recognized the Millennium Ring skillfully enfolded into his 'master's' family crest. He did not say anything, but that did not mean his heart did not ache painfully for his friend, and for himself. Ryou had even gone so far as to artistically depict wounds of various forms on his person.

Yugi, on the other hand, had forgone a tempting Pharaoh's costume in favor of dark leather, many belts, and an actual cape that draped down to his bum. Many people had asked him what he was dressed as, and to them he would reply, the King of Games. However, even Kaiba could see that tonight Yugi had become the spitting image of the Pharaoh at the height of his dueling, here, in the twenty-first century. In glittering opal powder, Yugi had even included the Sennen Eye on his forehead. The only thing that was missing was Yugi's replica of the millennium puzzle. But those who knew Yugi also recognized that significance. Here, he was the Pharaoh, in all his power and glory, freed at last from the prison that had held him bound for five thousand years.

Neither spoke much as they continued to watch the costumes glide by. Yugi had caught sight of Anzu and her new dance partner, looking every bit the fairy that her costume had intended. Her gaze had finally found Yugi over her partner's shoulder. She waved at him happily, a gesture which he returned with an approving thumbs-up. He smiled as she turned back to her friend, her cheeks glowing. Beside him, he heard Ryou laugh lightly to himself.

"She looks very happy." He commented by way of explanation, his voice ever a quiet whisper, even amidst the sounds of the party. Yugi nodded.

"But I think she also has a contender. Look." And Yugi pointed to where Seto and Joey were dancing on the floor. Ryou really did laugh at that. Joey had dawned a rather impressive dog costume, complete with collar and leash, and was happily begging his 'master' for kisses. Each time, Seto appeared much suffered from every treat granted, but could not truly keep the smile from his lips, or the appreciation, and the love, from his eyes.

"Saccharin Sweet, aren't they." They both looked up at the new voice, and smiled as Malik stepped up to join them, all decked out in an elaborate pirate's costume, complete with the eye patch and stumped arm.

"Oh, I don't know. It's nice to see Seto so relaxed, especially when surrounded by so many of his peers." Yugi observed, gesturing for the last hikari to join them. Malik took a moment to take in the other's costumes with a sorrowful gaze before settling himself down with his own beer.

"Mokuba doesn't seem to mind much," Ryou said, pointing to the center of the dance floor, where a little imp had enthusiastically taken on the challenge of twin dance partners, a light and dark angel that, when together, oddly resembled the 'change of heart.' Malik threw his head back in a full, muffled laughter.

"Do you think Big Brother has noticed yet?" He inquired, glancing at Seto again. Yugi considered for a moment.

"Nah. He's too busy keeping up with his Pet." They dissolved into good-natured laughter again and Ryou held up his goblet.

"Cheers." And as one, they drank to their camaraderie and friendship. There was comfortable silence after that, as they just let the colors and music and lights swirl around them. Occasionally, a waiter would stop by to refill their drinks.

As the time wiled away, Ryou's gaze would slip more and more to the master and dog on the dance floor, and his blue eyes would darken more and more each time until they were almost charcoal gray. Absently, Ryou reached up and began to pick at a 'bleeding wound' on his forearm, just above the gold shackles bearing his master's crest.

"They look so happy together," He murmured, so quiet that the others almost missed it beneath the swish of fabric and the thrumming of the music. Yugi glanced over at Ryou, and took in the dark sorrow in the albino hikari's eyes, before being drawn to the unconscious picking of the wound. He met Malik's violet gaze across the table. Ryou, it seemed, didn't even notice.

"Joey looks so happy. So content. He's safe and he knows it." Ryou's voice drifted further and further from the now with every word, and the other's felt his sorrow call out to their own. Yugi reached out to put a hand over Ryou's, halting his picking at 'old wounds,' his fingers brushing lightly over the scar that lay beneath the bleeding paint. Ryou was already too far gone to note.

"He knows his master would never hurt him. Not really. While they are together, he can just let all his pains and troubles melt away, and let his master take care of him, take all his fears and problems away…" Ryou trailed off, an unnoticed tear slipping over his alabaster skin. Yugi laid his head on the table, eyes buried in his arm.

"To know that there is another who will be strong… to know that it's okay to be weak on occasion…" The Game King trailed away as well, turning to gaze, unseeing, at the gliding costumes again. His careful eyeliner was mussed, as though he himself were crying, though he had no more tears to shed. "I've forgotten," he confessed, drawing the faintly surprised and empathetic gazes of his kindred.

"I've forgotten what it was like, to not have to shoulder the burden alone, to have someone who understands everything. I'm forgetting what he used to smell like… what he used to feel like…" A dry sob wracked his form and he felt Ryou's hand slip from his grasp to cover his own hand, squeezing gently. Malik placed his large hand on top of the two of theirs, completely covering them both.

"Every night," the Tomb Keeper's voice was hoarse, ragged as he too partook in the communion happening between them, "Every night, the dreams become fuzzier; his touch less real. I've can't remember the exact shade of his eyes, or the places he loved to be touched… they were always so hard to reach." A mirthless laugh barked up from his throat.

"It's been four years…" Ryou sobbed, his head falling forward, his eyes hidden by his hair, but he could not conceal the hot tears streaming down his face. "Why does it still hurt so much… Like he left me yesterday…" Yugi had thought that he had no more tears to shed for the Pharaoh. He was wrong. Finally, Malik stood up and pulled gently on their hands. As one, they both looked up at him. He only gestured to the side door. Nodding, the Hikari's quickly gathered themselves and made a discrete exit. No one noticed their absence.

The streets were calm, for now. But it was still early, barely nine o-clock. Parties would still be going for several hours yet. The three hikari's walked on in silence, Malik's arm over Ryou's shoulders in quiet, companionable support. Yugi walked alone, though always by their side. In time, the sounds of Seto's party faded into the distance, until there was naught left but the occasional car and the whisper of the wind through the trees and tall buildings.

How long they walked, no one knew and didn't care. In fact, it wasn't until there was suddenly one less in their group that they returned themselves to the present. Alarmed at the sudden lack, Malik whirled around, ready to fight, only to find Yugi standing several paces behind them, a puzzled expression on his face. Eyes focused and alert, they watched as Yugi scanned their surroundings, body tense.

"What is it, Yugi," Ryou asked, his ever-soft voice like the wind.

"You guys didn't hear that?" He looked to them. They both shook their heads.

"What did you hear, Yugi," Malik asked, his voice strong, reassuring. It was something the two often found themselves doing, like ping pong. He and Yugi would take turns being the pillar of strength for their little group, while Ryou always guarded their combined heart.

"I thought I… I heard someone call my name." Yugi frowned, glancing into a nearby alley and finding nothing.

"I didn't hear anything, Yugi," Ryou replied, his arms curling in around himself as he to became wary and watchful.

"Come on you two," Malik commanded gently, "It's time we got home." Ryou only nodded and turned readily, following the Tomb Keeper's lead, Game King trailing close behind them. Yugi gasped faintly, and stopped, half a block later, now rapidly scanning their surroundings. Malik did not release Ryou's shoulders, but in fact pulled him closer as he turned to look at Yugi.

"I heard it again," The Game Kind said by way of explanation, his body tense, knowing he had not mistaken it.

"Come on, Yugi." Ryou said, his voice trembling slightly. "Let's get out of here." Yet, even as Yugi nodded eagerly in agreement, he could not bring himself to move. He jerked. There is was again! That voice, that whisper, and suddenly all color drained from his face and his blood ran ice cold.

"Yugi!" Malik said, drawing Ryou closer still, alarmed by the sudden change in their companion. Ryou huddled willingly at the Tomb Keeper's side, arms curled around himself, shoulder's hunched, wide eyes fixed on the Pharaoh's Vessel.

"Yugi, what is it? What do you hear!" Malik demanded, scanning the area, his hand resting on the hilt of the all too real machete knife resting in his belt.

Yugi was still, barely even breathing, eyes wide and unbelieving. A dry sob struggled in his throat, but would not be released.

"Yugi!" Malik snapped, trying to break his friend out of his trance. It worked, and Yugi's wide, pale violet eyes alighted on his companions.

"Oh, gods… Malik…." It seemed that Yugi had to struggle to speak, his mouth having gone bone try, his body still painfully tense.

"What, Yugi?" Ryou's soft voice broke over his small friend like cool ocean water. It was enough. Yet, all Yugi could get out before he jerked suddenly again was a fearful, tremulous,

"I know that voice."

Then he gasped and took off at a dead run, slipping past Malik's viper quick reflexes like so much soap.

"Yugi wait!" Malik called after him, torn between going after him and protecting Ryou. Ryou, it seemed, made his choice for him, and Malik could only watch, stunned, as the albino hikari took flight after his friend. Growling in frustration, he took the hilt of his blade in hand and took off after the two. His long legs quickly brought him up even with Ryou, but Yugi continued to elude them several paces ahead.

"Yugi STOP! Where are you going? YUGI!" Malik shouted after the wraith that Yugi had become, the light reflecting off his polished leather the only real evidence to them that he was there at all. Malik growled, catching up Ryou with his free hand when the boy began to fall behind. If they were going to do this, then, damn it, they were going to stay together. But this still didn't make any sense. Yugi was running like a madman, but with purpose. What could possibly have brought this about?

Suddenly, from beside him, he heard Ryou gasp painfully, felt the boy shudder in his grasp, and just when he was about to slow his pace to see if Ryou was all right, the albino tore out of his grip with such a terrible burst of speed that almost left Malik completely behind.

"Ryou!" Malik tried to catch up with him, while still keeping Yugi in his sight, so far ahead of them. "RYOU!" The only sound he got was a desperate, plaintive cry drifting back to him from Ryou's throat. Damn it! What in the name of Anubis was going on! Resigning himself, Malik kept pace behind them, watching their surroundings for danger as they passed from the paved sidewalks to the gently rolling terrain of Domino Park.

It was like being punched in the chest, hard, when that thing that had so thoroughly gripped the other Hikaris crashed over him as well. He could almost hear the voice calling out to him. He could almost… but that was nothing to the sudden flaring of the gaping hollow in his chest, or the sudden need to drive forwards, to run, to find! Almost as an afterthought, he caught up Ryou's arm again as his own speed took him past his friend. Yugi's pace had slowed only just, from sheer exhaustion, but kept pushing on. It was enough for the other two to finally catch up with him.

Yugi's flight stopped almost as suddenly as it began, and he tumbled to the ground, rolling even as he burst through the trees into a small, close grove hidden from the rest of the world. Ryou collapsed as well, pulling in great, gasping breaths from the cool night air, and releasing them all as heaving sobs. Malik bent forward, hands braced on his knees, head down, also gasping for breath. For all of them, the feelings, the almost voices, the driving  _need_  had vanished like so much smoke, and there was nothing.

Ryou was the first to regain himself enough to look up and around. There was nothing, just darkness, and the three of them, gasping and sobbing. Yugi tried to push himself up, but his arms could not support and he collapsed back onto the ground. His elbows braced against the ground, were the only things that kept him from falling face first into the grass. He could not stop the tears that burned in his eyes or the sobs that strangled his slowly evening breath. What the hell. What the HELL! He wanted to scream, to cry out. Suddenly, it had never happened. Suddenly, he was seventeen years old again and watching as the temple that guarded the gateway to the afterlife crumbled beneath the mountain. Suddenly, the intervening years meant NOTHING! Why!

Leaning forward, he fought to muffle his scream in the earth, his body trembling violently. Behind him, Ryou had curled in on himself as well, and Malik had fallen to his knees, nails digging into the earth. He had been right there! He should have been right there. He had heard him. The call… he had been so sure.

All was dark within the little grove, save the faint stars overhead. The silence was absolute, not even the wind disturbed the trees. Finally, Yugi pushed himself back onto his knees, drying tears staining his cheeks. He was drained, exhausted. Flopping back unceremoniously onto the grass, he looked over to find the other's also recovering themselves. Malik, having regained something of his senses, took stock of their surroundings. He smiled ironically.

"Well, would you look what we have here." He said, his voice dripping with a lack of mirth. "Here we are again." That caught the other's attention, and they turned as well, recognizing, even through the darkness, the little grove that they had found themselves in two years before. Neither of them said anything, unwilling and too exhausted to analyze the significance of that at this point.

Slowly, Malik finally pulled himself to his feet and moved over to give Yugi a hand to his feet. "Come on you guys. Let's go home." Yugi nodded and accepted the proffered hand, his eyes dark, his expression an eerie mirror of that Yami held on a bad day. Pulling Ryou to his feet, Malik started to lead them out of the grove, when he was met with resistance. Turning back, he was about to tug on Ryou's arm when he saw the hikari's face through the darkness.

"What is it Ryou?" He asked, warily, catching Yugi's attention.

"Listen," was Ryou's only response. They listened.

"I don't hear anything, Ryou," Malik stated, getting tired of the game playing itself out through them.

"There's nothing," Yugi said, but something in his tone spoke of something more than frustration, hurt, and exhaustion. Ryou nodded.

"You hear it too, then, Yugi."

"Hear what?" Malik said, growing impatient, tilting his head to listen again.

"Nothing," Yugi elaborated. "No cars, no wind, no insects, nothing: the city is dead." The weariness had vanished from Yugi's voice, and Ryou's stance had taken on something more than just frightened confusion. He looked as though he too were preparing for an attack. Malik understood at once and wondered that he had not realized it before. But then, he reflected, resting his hand on the hilt of his blade again, he had been concentrating on keeping the other's safe. Slowly, the three of them moved together, back to back to back. There was nothing, not breath, nor sound, nor light within the enclosed circle of trees.

Ryou was the first to start, stepping back, body taught. The others didn't dare shift their gaze. "What!" Yugi demanded and was answered by Malik's echoing gasp. Then he saw it. It was so faint: one might miss if one looked directly at it. Movement: in the shadows, in the darkness: a writhing, misty kind of movement. They all backed up as one, pressing against one another as the realization hit them all at once. The Shadows!

And as they all peered fearfully into the darkness, a faint light made itself known, like a star fallen from the heavens. Yugi saw it first and pointed.

"There!"

The other's turned, Ryou with his hands outstretched, ready to reach for the shadows as Bakura had taught him, despite his uncertainty that he would ever be able to reach them again. Malik, on Yugi's other side, had drawn his blade and held it out before him, stepping forward to put himself even with the Pharaoh's vessel. Yugi called upon everything Yami had ever taught him, knowing that though the pharaoh was gone, he still held some small sway over the shadows. The light grew closer…

Twenty Years Later…

"Come on you guys, hurry up!" A little voice shouted up the stairs from the living room. "We're gonna miss all the good stuff!" A petite, tri color haired boy stood in the living room, sporting an equally tri colored superhero suit, complete with mask and cape.

"Hol' you Horthes, Yami!" came a little girl's voice from the second floor, still exuberantly proud of her first lost tooth.

"Slow Poke! Come on, Mana, or I'm gonna get all the candy and there won't be any left for you."

"MOM!" The little angel wailed as Mrs. Yugi Motou scooped her up into her arms. Solomon chuckled warmly from his chair, his blind gaze hovering two feet too little Yami's side. He straightened up, wincing as his old bones grated at the movement.

"Come here, Pharaoh." He called to his eleven-year-old grandson. Yugi shook his head as he came out of the kitchen, seven-year-old Atemu on his hip, decked out in his adorable little Kitsune outfit. To this day, he couldn't decide what madness had compelled his grandfather to call his children by their namesakes' titles, but had never really tried to stop him. Rebecca outright encouraged it and had even taken up the habit herself, more than willing to honor the great Pharaoh and those he had called friend. At least, she had a first.

While Grandpa took Yami onto his knee, dressing him down lightly for pushing his sister, Yugi set Atemu down on the sofa and went to retrieve his own private makeup stash. Bending over toward the mirror on the wall, he took out the eyeliner and proceeded to apply the makeup in a pattern long familiar to him now. From the stairs, he heard a deep, masculine chuckle, and glanced over in the mirror to see Bakura emerging into the living room.

At fifteen, Bakura stood at 5'11", towering over everyone else in the family. He had taken experimenting with different looks some time ago, and today stood before them all in a royal red, Egyptian priest's robes, bedecked in Malik's hand-me-down gold bangles, and so heavy on the makeup that he was almost unrecognizable as the attractive young man he was. Then again, accepting his natural attractive appearance had never been high on Bakura's agenda. A few years ago he had taken to dying his hair in the most bizarre and unnatural colors of the rainbow. Last week he had had it bleached white again, creating a blank canvas as it were, and had proceeded to dip the tips of his layered hair in black hair dye, creating a unique effect.

Yugi, in that moment, suddenly found himself caught between seconds, lost in time, as he looked at himself, dawning the face of his Pharaoh, and then to his eldest son, posing in the living room, all brazen and aloof. He was, for the love of Ra, the spitting image of Bakura as he had been in the Yami's Memory World, with the addition of his son's personal artistic touch. Catching himself before he left a great black stripe on his cheek, Yugi finished his own Egyptian makeup, before pulling out a box of gold plated jewelry he had commissioned for Kaiba's Halloween party the year he had Married Rebecca.

Amazed that all the pieces still fit, he stepped back and found himself staring back at Pharaoh Atemu, exactly as Yugi remembered him from the memory world, if, perhaps, older. Behind him, he could hear Grandpa gathering the children close, and reviewing with them the rules of Trick or Treat. Remember not to eat anything that anyone had baked themselves, and not to touch any of the candy if the wrapper had been broken.

Two long arms snaked their way around his waist, and he was met by the face of a Mad Scientist over his shoulder, gazing lovingly at him through her coke bottle glasses and messed blond hair. He smiled back at her reflection and placed his hands over hers. She smiled and kissed his neck. "Yami again, My Love," she murmured, nuzzling him, inhaling the Egyptian musk cologne he reserved for these nights. "Isn't it about time you tried something new?"

Sighing inwardly, Yugi turned and, holding his wife's check, kissed her deeply. "Please don't start that again, Love. It's only one night of the year. It's the only night I can look back and remember that it actually happened." He kissed her cheek, and she sighed, dissatisfied, but didn't say anything. Pulling away from him, she turned and began to gather up the children again, checking their outfits. Yugi watched her go, sorry that she felt the way she did, but unable to regret it.

A sudden wrestling match drew his attention, and he smiled as Bakura was 'taken down' by their superhero, playing out his elaborate death scene. Looking his son over, he couldn't help but feel that there was something missing from his costume. Frowning faintly, he turned to gaze at himself again through the mirror. It occurred to him that there was something missing from his costume as well. Then it struck him and he darted upstairs to dig around beneath his bed. He returned a moment later holding a beat up shoe box and calling Bakura over.

"What's up, Pops?" Yugi set the box down and stood before his son, looking him very deliberately up and down.

"I'm not sure. There's just something bothering me about your costume." He stood there for a minute, making a show of thinking about it while Bakura looked over himself, wondering what could be wrong.

"Yeah, 'Kura," Yami said haughtily, seeing his brother under their father's scrutiny. "What are you supposed to be, anyways? A homeless Pharaoh."

"Why would I do that?" Bakura returned, grinning evilly, "I am the evil Tomb Raider, don't ya know. And I am here to steal the Pharaoh's Crown! Bwahahah!" Yami struck a dramatic pose.

"Never! I, Ultra Boy, will die before I allow you to lay a finger on My King!" He declared heroically, leaping between Yugi and Bakura.

"Oh thank the god's you're here, Ultra boy. I don't know how much longer I could hold this evil doer off." Yugi played, pretending exhaustion.

"Yami!" Rebecca called from the kitchen, over Grandpa's hearty laughter. The two watched him go, even as the younger children ran from the living room, chasing each other before launching themselves at Grandpa.

"Sthory, Granpa. Sthory!" Mana cried, trying to climb up onto Grandpa's leg. Solomon just laughed and helped her up.

"All right, Sorceress. But just one. You too, Little Prince?" He turned toward Atemu's general direction. The kitsune cheered. Yugi smiled as he watched the two, glancing at the clock before turning back to Bakura. They still had a little time to kill before sundown.

"What did you think was wrong with it, Pops?" Bakura asked, looking down at his father, curious and confused. Yugi smiled and considered him again.

"Would you mind if I added something to it? You can always take it off later." Bakura shrugged.

"Sure."

Yugi reached into his box and pulled out his little bottle of opal powder, and proceeded to create a Sennen eye on Bakura's forehead. Then he dug around in it again before pulling out a replica of the millennium ring. Ryou had gone to Kaiba's party once dressed up as Bakura, pretending that he was possessed again, but had found the experience to be too close to his heart. Even knowing it was fake, Ryou couldn't bring himself to dispose of the replica ring, and so had given it to Yugi. Now, Yugi flipped the old rope over Bakura's head and settled it beneath his hair.

"Now, have a look at that," Yugi told him, standing back to observe his own touches to Bakura's costume, and found himself again struck by the resemblance between the two. Bakura seemed to be impressed.

"Wow, Pops… Just like in your stories." He said as he turned to examine the effect from different angles. Yugi nodded, satisfied, before dawning his own old replica of the puzzle, completing his own outfit. Rebecca came out of the kitchen at that moment, fiddling with her camera, when she saw the two of them examining themselves in the mirror. She sighed heavily. Coming up behind them, she held up the camera.

"Say Cheese!" They turned and posed for the camera. After a few pictures Yugi went up and kissed her, putting all his thanks into the gesture, knowing she knew what those pictures would mean to him, and knowing that she did it anyway, despite her own feelings about his 'obsession' with the past.

He was pulled away by the sounding of their doorbell, and Yami immediately raced down to the shop to greet their guests. A minute later, he was running back up the stairs, being chased by a pair of twin bandits waving their plastic swords. A young American Indian maiden followed them, giving them all hugs. Following them was a striking resemblance to Morticia Addams and a black robed figure whose only distinguishing feature was a yellow Sennen eye on the hood of his robe.

Yugi immediately went to greet his fellow Hikari, pausing on the way to embrace Marilynn, Malik's wife. Standing back, the two Hikari's watched the good natured chaos take over the living room.

"Incredible, Yugi. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that actually  _was_  the Spirit of the Ring." Malik murmured beneath the din.

"I know. The costume idea was all his, but the resemblance was so great I couldn't resist adding a touch or two." Yugi said smiling as Annara shyly approached Bakura, and the two stepped away from the others, talking.

"Your daughter, she's what now? Thirteen? Fourteen?

"Fourteen this January. And if you think your train wreck of a son has a chance in hell with her…" He let the threat trail off good-naturedly, reaching up to remove his hood.

"Bakura's a good boy, Marik. He's strong and smart."

"Rebellious."

"He's fifteen. But unlike some people I know," Yugi elbowed Malik in the side, "He seems to know when to quite." Malik made a show of glaring down at the would-be Pharaoh, before smiling and shaking it off.

"So how's the exhibit coming?" Yugi inquired after a moment.

"Very well, actually. The curator has placed me in charge of arraigning the next showing."

"Really," Yugi turned to look up at his long time friend. "That's great, Malik!" The former Tomb Keeper flushed, just a little.

"Yeah. It is." He turned back to Yugi, "What about you? Anything interesting in the field." Yugi shrugged, making a noncommittal sound.

"As good as always, I suppose. We, archeologists, are kind of running out of things to discover."

"True." Malik nodded, understanding all too well. "What about Ryou? Will he be joining us?"

"Not for trick or treating. But he said he would meet us here once we got back." Malik nodded, his gaze falling on Bakura and Annara again.

"Perhaps that is best. Who knows how he'd react to seeing your son like this." He shook his head, chuckling, "I still don't fully understand why you did it, Yugi. I could understand, a little bit better, if Atemu was the one you had named for the Spirit of the Ring, but your first born…" Yugi sighed. Bakura's naming had been a spur of the moment thing, but it had felt so right at the time. Now, Yugi couldn't count the number of times Bakura had done his namesake proud. But still… even now he found himself wondering why…

"It just felt right. Sometimes I wonder, too, but I don't regret it. Ryou is my best friend and the look on his face every time he sees Bakura… Besides," His voice grew soft here, "It's not like Ryou will ever have children of his own…" He trailed off, letting the implications stand. Malik let it drop. Ryou had been true to his vow, and hadn't been even casually involved with anyone since The Bitch, but he seemed content with his decision.

"All right," Rebecca spoke up in the middle of the room, "Everyone, front, and center!" Children came pouring in from every corner of the house.

Marilynn addressed the assembled persons, "Everyone has your bags." Bags were held up into the air and cheers echoed off the walls, "Excellent. Le's go." Smiling, they all turned and trouped out of the game shop, Grandpa waving at them as the left.

"He runs. He shoots!" Bakura tossed another M&M into the air and caught it in his mouth. "SCORE!" Annara laughed as he did his victory dance, gold bangles glinting in the lamplight as they made their way back to the game shop. Marilynn held her pouting twins by the hands, having broken up an ambush set upon little Mana, and Malik kept their candy bags with him. Yami was busy chatting with his Mother about the costumes he had seen, and about how efficient they were, or how gaudy. Atemu was still attempting to determine just how many different kinds of candy he had received without success. And Yugi held his little Sorceress on his hip, her candy back resting on his elbow as she drifted off on his shoulder. Occasionally, Malik would reach up to caress her still baby fine blond hair.

The two of them trailed some paces after the rest of the group, doing mental head counts every block or so, mindful of their surroundings. It was later than they had expected when they had finally started back, and they weren't willing to risk one of the young ones slipping off when their backs were turned. Mana stirred and mumbled incoherently on Yugi's shoulder, and he smiled down at her, nuzzling her temple even as Malik reached up to pet her hair with the back of his fingers again. Yugi smiled over at him. Malik returned the gesture, before letting his eyes drift over to his own daughter, now walking hand in hand with Bakura. Yugi followed his gaze and smiled.

Suddenly, as Atemu rounded the corner and stepped onto the last stretch toward the Game Shop, he gave a great shout and sprinted off. "UNCLE RYOU!" This, of course, got the rest of the children roused, and even Mana was squirming to be let down. Yugi let her go, and the two Hikari's rounded the corner just in time to see Ryou taken down by the stampede of children. Even the twins had managed to break free form their mother's grip to greet their favorite uncle. For a moment, the two just lingered there on the corner, beaming as Ryou was tackled and trounced by small bodies, all the while laughing his heart out.

"Okay you lot," Rebecca shouted over the din, "Let Uncle Ryou up. Come on." And she started attempting to herd the children inside. Yugi, laughing, started toward the game shop, Malik at his heals. Ryou was still laughing even as he rubbed his ribs, trying to get up. A strong hand was offered him and he accepted it without seeing who it belonged to. Still frail, after all these years, he was grateful for the lift up and began to brush the dirt from his casual sweater, when he caught sight of his rescuer. His breath caught in his throat as he started, and looked up and wide eyes at…

"Bakura!" He gasped, his voice thick with emotion as he looked at the Tomb Raider before him. Bakura blinked at that but covered his frown with his usual flip grin.

"That's me, Uncle. What do you think?" He asked and stepped back to pose for his Godfather. Ryou, it seemed, was still too caught up to recover properly, but recognition did register on his face. Malik was quick on the uptake.

"That fall must have rattled your brains, old friend." He said, clapping Ryou's shoulder hard enough to knock him back into the now. He blinked and looked over at his fellows before recovering himself and looking back over at Bakura's namesake.

"Wow. That's incredible, Bakura. I thought you were actually from ancient times, for a moment there." Bakura beamed at him until Mana appeared on the doorstep.

"'Kura, Momma want' you." The teen sighed and embraced Ryou warmly before taking his sister's hand and leading her inside. Ryou watched him go for a long moment until he was gone, still not quite able to shake it off.

"Sorry about that, Ryou," Yugi said, placing a hand on his friend's arm. Ryou shook his head.

"No, it's okay." He reassured, smiling, "I just… Wow." Yugi nodded. Malik, meanwhile, had reached down to pull his robe over his head, revealing jeans and a sleeveless tee beneath. He tossed the garment into the shop.

"Well, I'm ready to go," Yugi smiled at him and considered weather or not to change into his own street clothes before they took off.

"I think you should leave them, for now, Yugi. I know it will be appreciated." Ryou said, quietly. Yugi nodded, glad that the night concealed his blush and stepped inside the shop proper for a moment, only to return a second later with a backpack in hand. Malik relieved him of it almost at once, making some comment about how a Pharaoh is not a pack mule. Laughing, the trio set off down the street and into the night.

High above, from the living room window, Rebecca and Marilynn watched, unhappily, as their husbands disappeared into yet another Halloween night.

Twenty Five Years Later

"So there we were, Seto at my left, Joey at my right, as we stared down the most terrible shadow monster to have ever existed, the Leviathan. The Pharaoh's god monsters had already been eaten like candy, and it had turned its evil eyes on us, the lost king of Atlantis riding upon its back."

Bakura leaned back in the corner, arms crossed, shaking his head as his father told his grandchild about his 'adventures in the shadow realm,' whatever the hell that was. He sighed sadly as he watched Yugi lean forward in his chair, frail old hand gripping his cane for support as he spoke to his rapt audience. Annara came out of the kitchen, after pulling the cookies from the oven, and settled at her husband's side.

"Is he telling stories again?" she asked, quietly, as Bakura wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah." He murmured quietly, watching as his father got more and more into the tail. "I worry about him, Annara. He's not all there anymore. He's been telling this story for years and years, ever since I was a kid, but always before it was the 'adventures of the exiled Pharaoh, his high priest, and his pauper companion.'" He shook his head, "Now he's telling it like he actually lived it, and… Annara I think he believes what he's telling his grandkids. I think he honestly believes it now."

"Is that a bad thing? Your father has always been eccentric. You forget, I remember his stories as well as you do."

"He's losing touch with reality, Annara. He's slipping away from us and we're losing him. Ever since his stoke last spring… he just hasn't been the same…" Annara had nothing to say to that, and leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"Ever since we were babies…" he continued, almost to himself, "when gramps had started calling up Pharaoh and sorceress, Prince and tomb raider… He's using our names now, Annara. He's weaving his children into his stories as though we were actually there. And he 'believes' it." Annara gave him a comforting squeeze when she heard the heartbroken note in her husband's voice. Together, they looked on in silence as Yugi finished his story, their children already costumed up and waiting to be called out to the car to go to Uncle Atemu's annual family Halloween party.

"He's going to leave again, tonight." She said, quietly. Bakura nodded.

"If only there was a way to convince him not to go. He's always gone away with your father and Uncle Ryou. Every Halloween, for as far back as I can remember. The way mom used to talk before she died, it had been happening long before that. His night on the town always seemed to do him good, but I'm starting to wonder…" He trailed off, turning to look at his wife, "Annara, do you have any idea what it is they do on Halloween night?" She shook her head, sadly.

"Mom and dad used to argue about it when we were little. She insisted that she wanted to know what happened when he left, but he would never tell. He said that she wouldn't understand and that it was very personal to the three of them. Mom tried to follow him once, but she lost them once they got into the park, and finally gave up. That was after I had moved out, I think… the year before she divorced him. I… She accused him of having an affair, of the three of them being secret lovers… He never said anything to that. He just watched her go." Bakura sighed. Yugi had finished his story, and the wee ones were all in awe.

Eight-year-old Troy looked around him at his brother's and sisters in haughty disdain. "It's not real of course." He said, and in a single breath swept away the magic of his grandfather's story. He turned back to Yugi, who now bore an uncanny resemblance to Solomon Motou before he had passed away. "Isn't that right, Grandpa? There're no such things as monsters or the shadow realm. It's all just make believe." Yugi chuckled heartily as he settled back into his old, plush chair, cane in hand.

"If you say so, Troy," he said, his old eyes twinkling. The doorbell sounded from below, and he watched as Annara went to go greet their guests.

"All right, you lot, go get your candy bags and head down to the car!" Bakura barked, clapping his hands, and watched as they all jumped into action. Yugi just smiled at them all.

"Dad," Bakura said, drawing Yugi's attention to him as he knelt down beside the elder Motou's chair, "Dad, why don't you come with us. We would love to have you at the party. Everybody misses you at the parties. We can even bring Malik and Ryou with us too. They're family. Come on, Pop, what do you say?" He pleaded, taking his father's frail hand in his own. Yugi just smiled and gazed down lovingly upon his first born.

"I'm too old for Parties, My Boy. You go and have a good time with that brood of yours. I'll be just fine."

"I worry about you, Pops. You say you're too old for parties, but you're not too old to disappear for a night on the town? If… If you could at least tell me where you're going, I would like to come with." Yugi chuckled and bent over to press a kiss to his son's temple.

"I am an old man, Bakura. I'm set in my ways. What happens on Halloween night is very personal to the three of us. You wouldn't understand." Unbeknownst to the two of them, their guests had slipped in from the shop proper and were listening in on their conversation.

Ryou piped up, quite suddenly, "Yugi might not tell you where we're going, Bakura, but I will. We're going to go see the five-thousand-year-old ghosts of our dead teenage lovers." Poor Malik almost choked as he spewed the water Annara had just offered them and was soon bent double coughing and trying to suppress his laughter. Ryou beamed mischievously and started thumping his well-dressed friend on the back until he could straighten up again. Yugi just burst out laughing, and Bakura chuckled as well after he got over his initial shock at Ryou's uncharacteristically flippant moment.

"That's funny, Uncle." He said, although his tone said that it bloody well was not.

"See," Yugi said, settling back. "I told you that you wouldn't understand, Son. Go have your party. Give everyone a kiss from me. We'll be fine." Bakura looked sadly at his father before rising, knowing that there was no way he could convince his elder not to go. Sighing, he waved everyone goodbye and went to go pack his kids up in the car. The old Hikari's all watched him go.

Yugi sighed and turned to look at his friends. Malik was well dressed in his sand colored suit, the lines of age providing him with a very distinguished face, his long, silver streaked hair tied back in a tail at the base of his skull. Ryou was wearing casual slacks and a sweater vest of his dressy shirt, sorrowful lines spreading out from the corners of his eyes and mouth. Of the three of them, it seemed he had changed the least with age. Yugi, himself, was the spitting image of his grandfather if a few dozen pounds less.

"Are we ready?" He asked, leaning forward as he prepared to rise creakily to his feet. Ryou frowned and reached out as Yugi almost stumbled in his struggle to rise.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Yugi. Your body isn't what it used to be." Malik echoed Ryou's unspoken sentiment. Yugi sighed as he steadied himself, leaning heavily on his cane. He smiled up at them.

"No argument there. But neither flood nor hellfire could keep me away." His smile took on a weary hue as he stepped forward. "I have one last Halloween in me, yet. I don't intend to waste it." Those words hung like weights on their hearts, and though Ryou reached out to hold his friend by his free arm, they didn't say anything. Lately, they had all been feeling their years, hearing their own ends creeping up on them, but the reaper had touched Yugi far more intimately than any of the others. He had almost not come back from the encounter.

It was still early; there was no need to rush them. Though Ryou had arrived in his minivan, Yugi had insisted that he wanted to walk the distance, to look over the buildings and feel the long worn path, one last time. So with a friend on either side, they slowly made their way down the street, watching as the sun painted the sky in brilliant oranges and scarlet, and felt the year's trail long behind them.

As twilight began to set in, Ryou could not hold back the question anymore. "How long, Yugi?" The old King of Games sighed, knowing he could hide nothing from these men, not that he had really tried, to begin with.

"They couldn't tell me. A month. Six months. Who knows. The cancer is unpredictable. Malignant, then not. I'll hang on for as long as I can, but I know… I won't be with you when you walk this road again." Yugi felt their hands squeezed his arms.

"But you will be there, won't you?" Malik said, almost plaintive.

"Neither flood nor hellfire! Haven't I already said that" Yugi said, lightly? The others smiled and knew that Yugi would not disappoint. He never had yet.

"Does your family know?" Yugi shook his head. "Not yet. I don't want them to waste my time, worrying and fretting, trying to fight the inevitable. I've lived a long and happy life. I'm ready to see what happens next." The others nodded and they continued of for a few blocks in companionable silence. Then Yugi spoke up again.

"I saw your name in the news paper a while back, Malik. What was that all about?" The former Tomb Keeper smiled. "I have been named the new curator of the Egyptian Museum, although Isis still refuses to relinquish the tablets to my care. It's not like they have anything left to accomplish." Yugi chuckled, breathing deeply as they stepped onto the soft grass of the park.

"What about you, Ryou?" The albino hikari shrugged.

"Nothing as impressive as that, I'm sure. But I have been granted tenure by Domino University."

"Wow," Malik said, looking over Yugi's head at their friend. "I didn't know they still practiced tenure in this day in age." Ryou chuckled.

"Apparently, they do." The trio fell silent as the sounds of the city began to drift away, and the grove came into sight. Together, they hesitated a moment, appreciating, before Yugi stepped forward and led the way into the little clearing hidden within. Wearied by the long walk, he groaned as he lowered himself to the ground beneath one of the large trees, and listened as the winds stilled and the crickets fell silent. Around them, the shadows slowly began to writhe and a faint little light made itself known in the center of the clearing. Yugi watched it and let the rest of the world melt away, let the shadows eat away at his vision until there was nothing left but that light and the glow it cast on his two companions standing before him.

" _There!"_

_The other's turned, Ryou with his hands outstretched, ready to reach for the shadows as Bakura had taught him, despite his uncertainty that he would ever be able to reach them again. Malik, on Yugi's other side, had drawn his blade and held it out before him, stepping forward to put himself even with the Pharaoh's vessel. Yugi called upon everything Yami had ever taught him, knowing that though the pharaoh was gone, that he still held some small sway over the shadows. The light grew closer, descending to hover at the center of the clearing, pulsing faintly. It was hardly brighter than a firefly._

_Slowly, the light began to grow, not brighter, not bigger, but rather just seemed to diffuse out into the surrounding air, so faint that the eye might almost miss it. Soon, there was no distinct source of light. The young Hikari's tensed, ready for anything, barely breathing. Then Yugi blinked, and shook his head. He could have sworn…_

" _There's something in the light." He said, warily. Malik took another step forward, placing himself slightly in front of Yugi, blade at the ready. From within the diffuse light, a warm, deep, hauntingly familiar chuckle caressed their spines. Suddenly, there was more than just a light in the clearing, there was a presence there as well. A faint voice echoed from far away, low and inherently harsh. As it spoke, it got closer._

" _Well, it's good to know they haven't forgotten everything, ne." Behind him, Yugi heard Ryou gasp and felt his own heart clench painfully. There was movement in the light again, three faint shadows. A third voice spoke up._

" _I'm tempted to see just how well he remembers how to use that thing." That voice, so close, so familiar. Malik gasped, the machete dropping from suddenly numb fingers as he staggered back, looking as though he had suddenly been sucker punched in the chest. Behind them, they heard a faint thud, and tremulous gasping as Ryou fell to his knees. Yugi could only watch, unmoving, as the shadows continued to move closer and solidify as the strange light began to fade. He tried to breathe, tried to speak, but found both impossible as a very real, very solid boot pressed down upon the grass, joined by it's other._

_They just stood there, grinning and smiling over at them, waiting for the hikari's to recover themselves. The shadows wove themselves within the tree's surrounding the clearing, isolating them from the rest of the world. Generously, crickets began to sound again. Slowly, the figure in the middle stepped forward, crimson gaze fixed on Yugi, taking in the outfit, the sparkling Sennen eye, the uncanny resemblance._

_Finally, Yugi managed to find his voice, but when he spoke, it was a croaked whisper so faint the other's almost missed it. "Yami…" he could not hold back the tremor in his voice, nor stop the tears from blinding his vision, though they refused to fall. The Pharaoh smiled warmly at his beloved Hikari. He inclined his head, slowly, not taking his eyes from Yugi's._

" _Aibou." His rich, deep voice soothed over Yugi's entire body like a lover's caress, and Yugi could not restrain the desperate gasp, nor prevent to tears from falling over his face. Slowly, he reached out for the Pharaoh, hesitant, afraid that he would vanish like so much smoke._

_Smiling, Yami took another step forward, slowly lifting his hand, palm up, to gently brush his fingers against his Hikari's. Yugi needed no more invitation. With a desperate cry, he launched himself upon the former king and latched onto him, never, ever intending to let go as he buried his sobs in Yami's leather clad shoulder. He was rewarded with two strong, solid arms wrapping tightly around him, pulling him closer. Oh god, his scent was intoxicating._

_Malik shuddered violently as he warred with himself before giving in and shooting forward, tackling Marik to the ground. Hands fisted in the back of the yami's shirt, the hikari forced his way into Marik's mouth, grinding their hips together as hot, salty tears fell from his eyes._

_Ryou, still breathless, tried to move forward, but only succeeded in falling onto his hands, head craned back to look up at Yami Bakura. The tomb raider approached slowly, his eyes taking in the 'slave' before him, and he felt his heart ache for Ryou, knowing what had happened to him two years before._

_Slowly, he knelt down before his hikari. Reaching out to cup his cheek in the palm of his hand, and smiled as Ryou leaned heavily into the touch, tears falling from his face like rain. Bakura's hand slipped down over Ryou's shoulder, down past the 'bleeding wound' to grasp the gold cuffs on his wrist. Lifting it up for inspection, he ran his thumb over the pattern of the millennium ring in his 'master's' family seal, and smiled, warmed at the thought that Ryou still bound himself to him. Reaching out, he helped his fragile hikari to his knees and pulled him forward into a deep, fierce kiss. Biting down hard on Ryou's lower lip, he drew a tremulous moan up from Ryou's throat and smiled as he felt his hikari's trembling hands reach out to cling to him._

_Finally, Yugi's sobs abated and he pulled back to look up into Yami's smiling, loving eyes. "How?" He had to know. He had to understand. "How is this possible?" Around him, the other's activities stilled, as all Hikaris waited for the answer with baited breath. Yami reached up to brush away Yugi's tears as he looked down into his beloved's face._

" _Do you really want to waste what time we have answering such mundane questions, Aibou?" He leaned in to kiss his hikari deeply, "The shadows are bound, but not gone. They are as real in the afterlife as they are here. We are still the spirits of the millennium items. And this is All Hollows Eve."_

That was all the answer we got that night. It was all we needed. Afterward, it was easy enough to take the pharaoh's response and break down the how's and why's for ourselves. Every year since that fateful night, the three of us have gathered at the game shop. Every year, at this time, to this place, we have come, without fail. Every year, on this night, this All Hollow's Eve, the veil separating life and death is thinned, and sometimes, just sometimes, those that are dead can step through the veil and, for a few precious hours, are allowed to stand with us once more.

 


End file.
